Ray Kamalay puts African American and American music in the perspective of world history. With both story and song, Ray traces the development of slavery from ancient Rome to its links with American society.

He intersperses his own live performance of the music between astonishing stories from that history.

This long chronology leads us to the 19th and early 20th centuries, which brought an explosion of music in the United States. Backed by a vivid presentation, Ray will charm you with his top-notch musical skills and leave you with a new understanding of the meaning of the blues.

Florida Conversations is free and open to the public, and is underwritten by the Tampa Bay History Center Endowment Fund at USF, with media sponsorship from WUSF Public Media. Florida Conversations is co-sponsored by the USF Libraries and the Tampa Bay History Center.